A Wild Life

An early October morning and I am walking though sagebrush to visit with the magnificent stallion I call Wicahpi Hinhpaya... only today he is not alone as he was at our last visit. Several months ago he lost a battle and his mares were stolen away by younger more determined stallions.... he would win back his daughter Kamala for a little while, only to lose her again, and then he seemed to just be content to be alone as he healed from harsh wounds and caught up on grazing as he was fairly thin for a stallion in summer. Today his daughter and granddaughter were there with him.... along with the black stallion that I have witnessed challenging Wicahpi on a few occasions - today it was as if Wicahpi and Kamala were being given a supervised visit, allowed to be near her but also reminded he was no longer her true guardian. In watching these two stallions move back and forth, dancing the dance of stallions, but also more often calmly grazing on either side of the lovely young mare and her darling baby, it felt that they both are her guardians, that perhaps she is one of the sacred ones protected in ways I am not privileged to know. So - here is a little bit of something about Wicahpi and Kamala that I have not before stated.... I am not entirely without a doubt certain she is his blood daughter. In 2023 the wild horses of the desert were in chaos... a harsh winter had seen many lose their lives, entire families died together in the deep snows. Wicahpi lost his lead mare in the winter and then his young mares to another stallion that spring, but then later Wicahpi was joined by an older appaloosa mare - she would have Kamala the following year - I always wondered at the timing of when she joined Wicahpi to when she had Kamala, but because Kamala is the spitting image of Wicahpi, I stopped questioning and assumed Wicahpi and Kimimila had visits between each other before she joined him as his lead mare. But then Kamala had a foal this year... without having left her papa's family band - at least not that I personally ever saw. Which means nothing.... wild horses have more time without human observing them than with humans around, so it is rare to ever be absolutely sure of the male parentage! So now I have this mystery... is she or isn't she his daughter? Who is Kamala's baby's daddy??? And it is a mystery I will probably never have an answer to... or even really ever have to know I guess - but I wanted to share with you because I know many of you follow this amazing stallion, and a few of you may have done the math and started wondering.... so there it is - a secret that is only theirs to know, and that is okay because as I have learned over the last 15+ yrs of time in the wild with these horses, they have a deep understanding of what is good and what is right. And that is enough for me. Arapaho Creek Red Desert of Wyoming October 2026